NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS
Like Brad Pitt, I’m Stopping the Booze in 2024
At least for a couple months
Brad Pitt and plenty other celebrities have given up the grog. I’m not a celebrity but I thought I’d join them in 2024. For a while now, my body’s been telling me it’s time to take a break from drinking.
Any bets there’s going to be a plethora of articles about how new year’s resolutions suck. If you want to make a change, do it right now. No need to wait until January 1. Besides, you’ll probably break your resolutions before the month’s out. And giving up alcohol is the most cliché resolution of them all.
I disagree.
I like new year’s resolutions. Of course, you can make changes any day of the year and, yes, maybe you won’t stick to some of your resolutions. But the change in calendar year always shifts something in my head. I feel fresh and motivated so for me it’s a good time to try something new.
Do I drink too much? Yes, no, maybe.
According to the health authorities’ recommendations I do but, bloody hell, their standards are impossible. 100 servings of veg a day, 200 litres of water, one grain of salt, half a grain of sugar, and one standard alcoholic drink every six months. Sure, I’m exaggerating. But not much. FFS, if you want people to be healthier give us something achievable.
Anyway, I never listen to the health dictators. But I do need to listen to my own body. If that first sip of wine makes my stomach churn, then why do I force myself to keep drinking? If a few beers give me a headache, why don’t I realise that’s a few beers too many? If my dress sizes are creeping up and the only thing I’ve changed is the amount I drink, then why don’t I blame the drink?
The problem is I bloody love to share a drink with friends and family.
I don’t mean getting steaming, but I find a few social drinks damn good craic. But lately, as the age of 50 looms, my brain’s definition of a few drinks and my body’s definition are at odds.
It was easier to drink less in Australia. Due to the atrocious public transport, you’re forced to drive most places and my generation has drink driving legislation ingrained in us. I can’t unsee those graphic Transport Accident Commission public service ads from the 1990s…
But here in Barcelona, you’re never more than a couple hundred metres from a metro station and you can always get home within half an hour. Drunk or sober. Besides, like many writers, I lean towards the introverted so often rely on alcohol as a social lubricant. And I’m recovering from the trauma that was 2020. And everyone else is drinking. And I don’t drink any more than many of my friends.
So many excuses.
That’s why I’m going to take a couple months off the booze in 2024. Oh, and I want to drop a dress size in time for my friend’s wedding in May.
Let me know if you’re planning something similar and we can support each other.
